Brown’s hard work pays

STURGEON — It all started with a lie.

Two years ago, Douglass sophomore Brandon Gleason saw an unfamiliar face sitting on the steps of Douglass High School listening to music through a pair of headphones.

Seeing the opportunity to possibly add some talent to the Douglass Bulldogs basketball team, Gleason approached the mystery man and asked if he played basketball.

Luckily for the Bulldogs, Joe Brown lied and said that he did.

“I just saw him sitting there and wanted to know if he played any ball,” Gleason said. “He said he did, but as soon as I saw him play, I knew that was a lie.”

After realizing Brown never played any basketball before, Gleason didn’t give up on him.

“I worked with him just about every day,” Gleason said. “I just wanted to try to get him to learn how to play the positions. Now he dominates in all the positions.”

Brown, now a junior, realizes that all his hard work has paid off.

“All that work we did, it’s paying off now,” Brown said. “Now I bring it every game.”

Brown, a New Orleans native, never played basketball before he was forced to move to Columbia after Hurricane Katrina hit.

The storm destroyed Brown’s home and also claimed the life of his uncle, Freddy Shaders.

“It was bad,” Brown said. “We lost everything after Katrina.”

Before leaving New Orleans, Brown played strong safety for his high school’s football team.

Coincidentally, that school was also called Douglass High School.

Brown finished with nine points in the Bulldogs’ 65-54 semifinal win over the Van-Far (10-14) in the Class 2, District 5 tournament.

With the win, the Bulldogs improved to 20-6.

“Joe really came up big time for us tonight in every situation,” Douglass coach Lynn Allen said.

“He played a really great game.”

Brown realizes that his contributions to the team are more than just scoring points.

“My job is to get rebounds and play good defense,” Brown said.

These days, Brown can’t seem to get enough of the sport that he took up only two years ago.

When he’s not playing basketball for Douglass, Brown is usually playing at one of the recreation centers in Columbia, usually either the Activity and Recreation Center or the Armory.

“I’m always playing ball somewhere,” Brown said.

In the future, Brown hopes to be able to open up a barber shop, something he became interested in back in New Orleans.

“I always saw my cousin working in one so that’s where I kind of got that idea,” Brown said.

Douglass will face the Harrisburg Bulldogs (19-5) in the district finals Saturday at 8 p.m. The game will be played at Sturgeon High School.